John a



(No Model.)

J. A. RUSSELL.

with my improvements.

ATENT JOHN A. RUSSELL, OF ELIZABETH, NEWV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF TWG-THIRDS TO GEORGE B. MARTIN AND GEORGE BAKER, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

AXLE LUBRICATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent,- No. 247,417, dated September 20, 1881.

Application filed March 16, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN A. RUSSELL, residingin thecityof Elizabeth, county ofUnion, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon- Axle Lubricators, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming apart of the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in axle-lubricators as applied to hubs and spokes ot wagon-wheels; and it consists in an improved device to prevent the gumming up or closing of the outlet from an oil-cup attached to the hub, and in the combination of the same with the inner end of a hollow spoke, as hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal section of a hub and one spoke of a wagon or carriage wheel, the spoke andhub being titted Fig. 2 is a transverse section ofan oil-receiver an d plunger on a larger scale; Fig. 3, an enlarged section ofthe spoke B across the receiver 1'; and Fig. 4, a plan of the plunger detached from the receiver to show the notches p in its sides.

A is the hub; a, the axle-box; B, the hollow spoke; B, one of the ordinary wooden spokes.

-(J is the axle, and c 0 holes formed in the axle-box at its side to admit oil from the receivers r, the latter being shown detached from the spoke at the left end of the hub, as well as formed in thetenon of the hollow spoke shown in Fig. 1. WVhen detached the receiver is formed as a cylindrical vessel, having a screwcap, 8, at one end to admit the charge of oil, and formed with a conical nozzle, n, at the other, through which the oil is discharged.

A plunger, 1), is fitted inside the receiver, and consists of a loose plug adapted to slide from one end of the receiver to the other with each revolution of the wheel.

Notchesp are formed in the sides of the plug to permit the passage of the oil freely; and a plunger-rod or pin, 1), is secured into its lower end and works through the nozzle 7 at each stroke of the plunger, carrying a small quantity of oil with it, and effectually preventing the gumming up of the oil-passage by its constant movement.

The receiver when detached from the spoke is sunk into an auger-hole bored into the hub from the outside toward the axle-box a; and

the hole 0 being provided in the box beneath 55 it, the rod 1) is constructed to pass through the hole, and to drop its charge of oil directly upon the axle C. J A rib, c, is provided upon the side of the receiver to cut into the wood and keep the metal '60 fitted with ascrew-nozzle, at, through which the rod 1) reciprocates, as before described,the

plunger being arranged in the tube as in the detached receiver, and restricted in its movement by a bridge, d, in the interior of the spoke.

The bridge is provided with a hole, 17, communicating with a chamber or hollow,f, formed inside the spoke for the purpose of holding a large supply of oil. Such hollow.may extend the whole length of the spoke by making itentirely of metal; or a portion of the spoke may be made of wood, as shown at g in the drawings, by inserting the same into a socket, h, formed in the upper end of the metallic part of the spoke.

For filling the reservoir or chamberf, a hole is provided in the side of the spoke at j, and a screw button or plug, k,is employed to keep it closed.

When the axle-box a is short the oil fed from the receiverin the hollow spoke will sufflee to oil the bearing; but for long hubs I connect the reservoiror spoke-receiver with a detached receiver sunk in the wood of the hub, as shown in Fig. 1, through the medium of a small tube or pipe, t, secured by screw-thread 0 or solder into both.

In Figs. 4 and 2 is shown a device for insuring the movement of the plunger 1) in the receiver r, the same consisting in a loose ball, Z,

arranged in a tubular hollow, m, formed inside 5 the plunger, and protected from access of oil by a plate, 0, soldered air-tight over the 1101- low m.

As the receiver is carried around the axle by the revolutions of the hub the ball rolls alternately from one end of the hollow m to the other, and drives the plunger from its previ- I ous position by its momentum.

I am aware that it is not new to employ a sliding pin to clean out the oil-hole leading to a wagon-box; but in such inventions as Patents Nos. 207,493, of 1878, and 157,576, of 1874, no provision exists for insuring the movement of the cleansing-pin when the oil is thick or gummy; and my invention is especially intended to obviate the defect inherent in all previous structures by attaching a heavy plunger to the pin and making the latter of very small diameter, so that the momentum of the plunger may readily overcome any resistance encountered in the oil-hole. To further insure the movement of the plunger itself, my invention provides the moving ball, protected from the oil completely by its inclosure in the inside of the plunger, and I thus effectively prevent the sticking of the pin, which frequently occurs with other inventions.

I am aware that a hollow spoke is not new, as it is shown in Brunss Patent No. 182,555, of 1876; and I therefore disclaim the sliding pin and the hollow spoke, except as combined in the manner which I claim as follows:

1. In a lubricator for wagolrwheels containing a plunger reciprocated by the operation of gravity, the combination of the receiver 1', having a tapering nozzle, a, with the pin b, operated by the plunger p,formed with notches p, the whole arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the plunger p, of the hollow chamber m, and the loose ball 1 secured therein air-tight to secure the exclusion of oil, and operating to move the plunger by its momentum, in the manner herein set forth.

3. The combination, in a hollow spoke, of two receivers separated by the bridge d, one serving as an oil-reservoir, and the other operating in combination with the plungerp and pin 12, substantially as shown and described.

In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN A. RUSSELL.

Witnesses:

Tnos. S. CRANE, WM. DIETZ. 

